Italy 2011 - Day Eight, To Rome Then Home.

Dan came and knocked on the door at 5am. we hadn't actually got any sleep having spent so long just sitting in the dark talking. it seemed so ridiculous, after knowing someone for less than 72 hours i'd still ended up feeling incredibly connected to Raffaele, but that was just how it had ended up. it took me less than five minutes to pack, and before i knew it we were on our way to the train station. we got there 20 minutes early, so we spent a while sitting around in pretty much silence. i think we were all pretty gutted to be leaving, and we were all so tired, making conversation was a lot more effort than it was worth.
The train eventually got there, and i have to admit, at that moment saying goodbye to Raffaele felt like the hardest thing i would ever have to do. but nevertheless after promises to keep in touch i got on the train and we settled down for the 6 hour journey back to Rome. the train got pretty busy, so when some people came who had reserved the seats we were sitting in, we ended up getting split across a carriage. a man from somewhere in Africa came over and started talking to me, but i really didn't have any patience for him and after the fourth time of asking for my phone number i got pretty rude and he spent the last 4 hours completely silent.
We got back to Termini station and Dan disappeared to get a train to an airport; he was getting on a different plane to get him back to Manchester. so me, Vikki and Eliot were left wandering around the train station for an hour, waiting for the coach to take us to the airport. it was boiling hot, i'd had very little sleep and i was irritable anyway; i really didn't want to leave and the child in me threw a hissy fit. despite this, we still ended up at the airport in time, only to sit around for another three hours waiting to get on a bus to take us to the right terminal so we could get on the plane. i was feeling physically horrible, and i was pretty sure i'd throw up any minute but we managed to make it to London without any dramatics. i'm pretty sure if i hadn't had my ipod, and Vikki holding my hand the whole time, i would have panicked and made some sort of horrible scene. we arrived in Stanstead airport at about 5pm, exhausted but alive and perfectly unharmed from our (my first) independent rampage across Italy. it had been a wonderful experience and i'm sure it will continue to be a beautiful memory.